


Under the Eye of Planet X

by secondstringheroine



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Wonder Woman (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, OC villain - Freeform, wholesome as all heck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondstringheroine/pseuds/secondstringheroine
Summary: A threat to both Themyscira and the Moon Kindom of old re-emerges in the present day. It's up to two legendary heroes to put things right! But Sailor Moon is powerless in this foe, and their only course of action calls Wonder Woman's principal into question. Will they endure in one piece? Will the first meeting of two great heroines be a cause for celebration, or heartbreak?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

It was a dream more vivid than most, filled with the sense of a place; musty and dark, warm and confined. The weight of the earth above was bereft of forgiveness, and had to be so. Not even the amazons - she knew them to be amazons - though noble their intent, were granted quarter in this oppressive chamber; the cost of freedom being too great for mortals to bear.

Two by two, they lined the cavern leading to the gates, and watched without blinking. The smell was more pungent here, almost rank, acrid, like spoiled eggs, enough to turn most stomachs. But the warriors did not flinch. They were resolute, and chiseled like the pillars along the confines of the cave.

Behind the doors stood flame and torment. Its name all but hissed at them through the cracks; ‘Tartarus’ - home of the wretched, plunging as far beneath the ground as Olympus reached high. It was there that the wicked tasted the fruits of their deeds a thousand times over, and from which a few, irrepressible spirits sometimes returned, dragging damnation with them.

After a millenia, one such spirit was on the cusp of freedom. A cosmic sickness called to her, and would not be denied.

The tallest of the amazons, a woman with hair blazing like fire, thumbed the locket of her scabbard. Though doom was set to meet them halfway, she wished at the very least it would be punctual.

At her side was a woman, barely more than a girl - not born of Themyscira, but by heart an amazon - who might have been just as happy to face no trial at all. Artemis stole a glance, however brief, at the golden hair and puffed cheeks more fitting of a priestess or poet than a warrior.

She smirked sideways at the girl. “You’re shaking.”

Cassandra bristled. “Am not.”

“You are!”

“If I’m shaking,” she said, “it’s with excitement.”

And, she didn’t say, a cocktail of adrenaline, anticipation and the million thoughts of damnation pressed in the back of her mind. The moment called for her to be still, to be alert, to react as needed - not to spring at the horrors cooked by her imagination.

“Leave her alone,” said another; a sister, in spirit if not blood.

“I’m only teasing,” said Artemis. “My sword thirsts, and I would slake it before death by boredom.”

The third amazon, whose name was Donna, neither smirked nor grimaced at the remark, though her expression did harden.

“Time enough for that when our duty is served,” she said. “Cassandra, remember your training. Be vigilant, never complacent, but be at peace until called to raise arms.”

_ Easy for her to say _ , thought the girl, for Donna was made of the same stuff as another hero of legend. She, like her sister, was raised in a crucible of combat, wisdom, and intellect. Cassandra, on the other hand, was six months shy of senior year in suburban hell. What strange fate it was that she should be here, at the gates of Tarturus.

The dream’s eye shifted down the length of the corridor, past the eight amazons, to a mysterious ninth approaching from the rear. She made no attempt to hide her steps, nor did she falter when the flank guards snapped in her direction. What manner of individual wandered without a care in a place that amazons feared to tread?

“Halt! Identify yourself!”

She paused, but did not emerge into the flickering torchlight.

Artemis scowled. “I’m accustomed to evil emerging from the gates; not entering from above!”

Donna had no such desire for banter. “Who are you, and what do you want? Answer, or by the gods we will run you through!” The caves bore no forgiveness, and by necessity, nor did they.

The clink of glass echoed through the chamber, followed by choking. The amazons redoubled their stance, knowing better than to lower their guard.

Through the bile welling in her throat, the stranger finally addressed them.

“In... a past l-life... my n-name was... H-Hatsuko... Sato…” she said. “That name... d-dies... with m-my hum... humanity!”

On an island of immortals, where gods and amazon oft walked side by side, all were accustomed to the ways of magic in both its horror and majesty; which was why the warriors switched formation, arms at the ready, same as they would when confronting the underworld. They had trained all their lives for such an event.

Flesh twisted and bone snapped, rearranging the remnants of a woman into something bestial with horns, scales, claws, and a mane flowing down to its haunches. Gone was the shape of Hatsuko Sato, whoever she was. In her place was a beast, more rage than reason, whose sickly breath filled the cave.

Artemis twitched. Donna steadied her breathing. Cassandra stole a fleeting moment to let terror run its course, and was then calm. They had come for battle, no matter its form; thus they were prepared.

It was a blessing that the dream’s eye glossed over the combat, along with the blood spilt against the ancient pillars. The monster knelt in front of the gates, lowering her head in reverence as the doors came open.

Burning and rot blew into the room, dominating the senses, followed by a naked figure with tangles of silver hair. Howling and torment clung to her flesh, which she did not appear to notice until shrugging them off. The doors slammed closed behind with finality. A grave sin had transpired, though only one appreciated the fact.

The silver haired woman blinked with a heavy, dour expression.

“Who,” she asked the monster, “are you?”

The beast drew a sharp breath. “I am she who is Lady Chimera,” she said. “I am your servant. I am your slave!” 

She furrowed her brow at the creature. “My... slave?”

Lady Chimera prostrated so low her snout pressed the dirt. “All hail Larisa, exile of the amazons! All hail Larisa, guardian of Nibiru! All hail Larisa, the shadow destroyer, Sailor X!”

Realisation washed over her pale eyes. Larisa - that was her name, once, perhaps, before it was scrubbed from her with fire and iron. In the hollows of her chest, something reached for the light, though it was too distant, too far gone.

She fell to her knees, bereft of the will to stand. She was ‘alive’ by technicality, but still somehow lesser than the dead. Her resemblance to humanity ran skin deep.

From the shreds of her clothes the chimera removed a smooth, black stone, deeper than obsidian, that did the opposite of shimmer, whatever that was. She placed it in Larisa’s hands, and folded the woman’s fingers around it. There was only a hint of resistance, too bare for even the most attentive to notice.

Somewhere in the chasm of her spirit she screamed in less than a whisper. What was once now was again. The nightmare repeated, ad infinitum.

Something stirred inside Larisa - something other than the remnants of personhood; something buried, sleeping, seeded in her spirit and waiting for conditions to be right. It was an ugly, alien thing, put there by one who had no right to her heart. Still, it stoked a fire inside that was not her own, and prompted the amazon to her feet.

“Sailor... X..."

The weight of the title struck to the beat of a war drum. Destruction was coming like thunder over the mountains. Who was this woman if not death; not just for the amazons, but for all of planet Earth?

* * *

Usagi whined under her duvet. Why - why, why, why did she have to wake up when her bed was so soft, so warm, so safe? She resisted for as long as she could, fixing her eyes shut and balling the covers in her fists, but the day would not be kept waiting.

“Wake up, Usagi! It’s time for breakfast!”

A pint-sized cannonball crashed into her stomach, shaking away the peace of slumber. Usagi darted up, threw her sheets over the pink haired child, and roared at the top of her lungs.

“You little brat! You can’t jump on your own bed, so you jump on mine instead?”

Chibi-Usa pulled the bedding free, and frowned at her supposed ‘older sister’. 

“You slept in, again,” she declared with royal cadence which, in another time, she was - princess of the Neo Moon Kingdom, one thousand years in the future; daughter of the woman Sailor Moon had yet to become.

In the meantime, however...

“Mama’s already upset about your English scores-”

Usagi boiled. “You don’t get to lecture me as well!”

In a fit she bundled the girl, her pillows and blankets together, and heaved them with slender arms into the hallway. She slammed the door and seethed, still fresh with the shock of waking.

It wasn’t that she hated Chibi-Usa, or even disliked her - but why did she always have to be such a brat?

Usagi wondered, was she like that at her age?  _ No way, _ she decided; she was mature and reasonable, despite what Mamo and her friends told her. Really, Chibi-Usa could stand to be more like her!

Mama’s voice murmured through the floorboards. “How many times do I have to tell you not to slam the door?”

She deflated. ‘It’s not my fault,’ she wanted to say; ‘Chibi-Usa was being a brat, and-’ 

Even if she had the chance to plead her case, it would have fallen on deaf ears. After all, her sister was a kid who didn’t know better, and she was an underachiever desperate to catch up.

Usagi snatched a teddy bear into her arms, threw herself against the mattress, and kicked.

“It’s not fair,” she whined. “Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!” She flailed until she could flail no more, til her energy ran down and all she could do was pout.

The little black cat on her desk turned up her nose. “You won’t get very far with that attitude,” she said.

Not every girl gets to have a conversation with a cat - or at least a conversation that went two ways - but for Usagi it happened every other day. Such was being a moon princess, she supposed.

Where would she be without Luna’s guidance and friendship? It was a gift Usagi failed to appreciate more often, though she knew that she should.

This was one of those occasions.

“Luna!” She drew out the name in a long, irritated sob.

Why did everyone always give her a hard time? And so early in the morning, at the crack of - Usagi looked to her clock - seven nineteen! Less than an hour to get to school! No wonder everyone was crabby.

The black cat jumped onto the bed and prodded her with a paw. “Usagi. Are you alright?”

She thought about it, and only then realised that no, she wasn’t alright. Her thoughts were filled with dread and foreboding, heavier than they would be on a normal day. Usagi blinked tears from her eyes, which fell to the bed with a soft thud.

“I had a bad dream,” she said.

* * *

Perhaps it was in spite of her feelings that the sun continued to shine. Usagi clutched her schoolbag, allowing gravity to guide her on the declining road to school. How could it be that a day was so warm and pleasant while the hollow in her chest was anything but?

She wandered down the footpath, oblivious to the stream of other students flowing toward campus. It wasn’t until hearing her name that Usagi lifted from her reverie.

“Usagi!”

For the first time that day, Usagi found reason to smile. Her friends waved from the bottom of the hill, beckoning her come.

There was Naru, Usagi’s best friend for longer than she could remember; Ami, shy and studious, but gentle and sweet in equal measure; Mako, the giantess with a heart to match her stature; and Mina, whose outgoing smile glistened like the stars. Never was there a more welcome sight.

The girls flocked together like birds and greeted each other with delight. Usagi sighed. Their morning ritual, innocuous though it was, meant the world.

Of course, it was not to last.

Ami smiled at her. “How did you do on your English exam, Usagi?”

She needn’t have said anything. Usagi slumped under the weight of the score stamped on her soul. She cried, Mama yelled, and so did Chibi-Usa; Shingo laughed, and Papa shook his head. He wasn’t upset, just ‘very disappointed’.

Naru patted her shoulder. “Come on, Usagi. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?”

The girl whimpered. “Can we change the subject, please?”

Ami flushed and looked away. Maybe she should have known better than to ask.

Poor Ami. Even the mildest misstep caused her to double back. The girl genius was better with facts and figures than she was with people, after all. Not that it made her any less of a friend, for beneath that brain beat as gentle a heart as anyone could dream of - a heart she offered to Usagi in everything from heroism to homework.

Mina, however, never one to be dulled by a mood, threw her blond hair back and beamed. “It’s really no surprise,” she said, matter of factly. “There’s been a rash of bad luck going around. It’s all to do with the mysterious ‘Planet X’ putting the constellations out of alignment.”

Of course Mina knew all about that. The aspiring idol was all over the horoscopes from at least a dozen magazines, covering the Western zodiac, Chinese, as well as blood type. Whether or not she believed it, who could say? Only that it was fun for her to think about.

The girl blinked, and latched onto the change of subject. “‘Planet X’?”

“You’ve not heard of it, Usagi?” Ami asked.

Usagi shook her head.

“Planet X is a rogue planetary body that crosses our solar system every thousand years,” she said. “Sages once ascribed destruction and misfortune to it, though whether that’s any more than legend is hard to say. Some call it ‘Nibiru’, but Usagi, I doubt it has any bearing on your-”

“That’s it!” Usagi stomped resolutely. “It’s not my fault I’m bad at English! It’s that alphabet planet that’s thrown me out of whack!”

Naru groaned, and glared at Mina. “I can’t believe you gave her a scapegoat.”

Mina paid her no attention. Her focus was on their other friend, who in turn appeared distracted. She hooked arms with Mako and gave her a playful nudge.

“Earth to Mako,” she sang. “Are you still with us?”

Perhaps it was out of self-consciousness that Mako’s thoughts were elsewhere. She was, quite literally, a head above her peers. Other students talked, and not always kindly, about the middle school giantess who could level them with judo skill. Though Usagi knew her to be tender and thoughtful, she was not often afforded that benefit.

The tall girl narrowed her gaze. “That man over there..."

Mina looked around her friend to the side street by the school. Under the shade of a white pine tree stood a large, muscular man in a leather jacket with a baseball cap pulled over his eyes. A man like that was more than a little out of place, especially next to a school. Students thought twice about their steps whenever he looked up.

“Who is that?” she asked.

Naru tilted her head. “European, or American?” she wondered.

“American,” said Ami. “He’s wearing a US Air Force bomber jacket.”

Usagi frowned. “What would some weirdo from the US Air Force be doing outside a middle school?”

Mina shrugged. “Maybe he’s a spy.”

“That’s better than what I was thinking,” Naru said.

Mako’s gaze didn’t waver, and neither did Usagi’s. First that weird dream, then Planet X, and now this guy? It had to be more than coincidence.

**_À suivre..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying it so far!
> 
> After a whole ton of searching I've only found one other Wonder Woman/Sailor Moon action/adventure story, which is surprising. So, I thought I'd add my own.
> 
> New chapters will be added weekly, but if you just can't wait, just head to http://mirandasparks.com/fan-fiction/ for an advance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something evil this way comes. Can Rei warn her fellow Sailor Guardians on time?

Rei was far from the top student in her class, but she wasn’t a slacker, either. She scored average to above in most subjects, always turned in homework on time, and boasted a near-perfect attendance record; which was why it was strange that at eight fifteen on a weekday she was not at school, but at the Hikawa Shrine, where she served as a trainee priestess.

She raced to the temple, kicked away her shoes at the entrance and, still in her school uniform, made her way to the altar. 

It was there she found Yuichiro, the scruffy haired apprentice, still lighting incense as part of his own ritual. Rei ignored him and his surprise, and threw herself into prayer.

“Hey, uh, Rei? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

The girl did not deign to answer. Time was precious, and a wave of malevolence was mounting the likes of which she’d never felt. If that weren’t reason enough to cut class, then what was?

Rei chanted an ancient prayer, and centred her body around the words. Her breathing slowed, as did her thoughts and the beating of her heart. Her chi flowed without obstruction, giving her sight into the world unseen; a sense dismissed as superstition by some, but had served her well for all her days.

Yuichiro knew better than to bother her, or to question her uncanny instinct. Calling Rei out was the fast track to being cursed, or worse, scolded by the girl’s grandfather. He knelt beside her, a respectable distance away, and started his own prayer.

It wasn’t long before visions of malevolence ran through her. Chaos, darkness, and destruction! Ash and decay consuming all in their reach, looming over the precipice of tomorrow.

Rei’s eyes snapped open. “I’ve got to warn Usagi!”

Usagi, princess of the Moon Kingdom, and the one called Sailor Moon. It was a fact she sometimes forgot under the guise of a crybaby. And yet there was nobody she trusted more to cradle the world. Few hearts were ever so giving. If that didn’t inspire loyalty, then nothing would.

“Usagi?” Yuichiro shook himself from a trance. “Your friend with the blond hair who mixes up her proverbs?”

“No, that’s Mina,” Rei said. “Usagi’s the one with dumplings on her head.” She smirked. It wasn’t her joke, but it was still funny.

She raced into the courtyard and activated her communicator watch.

She signaled Usagi first. No answer. Then a second time. No answer.

Ami, Mina, and Mako were also out of reach.

“Come on..."

Rei fought to collect herself. Evil wouldn’t wait until after school. Someone had to warn Sailor Moon!

There was only one place left to turn. Rei scrolled her phone, and paused at the name. She hesitated for a moment, taken by a flash by her former feelings for the boy. Though their romance was a thing of the past, Mamoru Chiba was no less an ally of the Sailor Guardians. 

* * *

Dread weighed on Usagi until she could no longer sit upright. Was it really the influence of Planet X, or the all-too-earthly state of her grades bringing her down? Whatever it was thickened the air.

Of all her subjects, English was her worst - one of the worst. Why did it matter so much, anyway? English was a weird language. The words didn’t make sense, and neither did the sentence structure. Then there was that strange alphabet with unpronounceable letters. How was anyone supposed to understand?

Naru browsed over her homework. She seemed to understand just fine. “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” she said, enunciating every word.

Usagi sank further. She made it sound so easy!

“Did you hear? We’re getting a new teacher! The seniors say she’s a real hottie!”

She looked up to the messy haired boy with glasses so thick they put the Hubble telescope to shame. Trust Umino to be a lech, like an old man before his time.

“Jeez, could you stop being gross for five seconds?” asked Usagi. It was almost enough to pull her from moping.

“I’m serious,” Umino said. “Legs that go all the way to heaven! Lips like sweet smelling pillows! A dream come true!” The more he described her the more he swelled. His face burned red. As if a pervy dweeb like Umino stood a chance with a teacher!

Naru twitched. “A-are you okay?”

He nodded, and fanned himself before drifting back to his seat.

For a fleeting moment Usagi dared to hope. A new English teacher meant a chance to make a first impression. Maybe she would be nice. Maybe she would notice Usagi, and give her a passing grade because she was so sweet!

She sighed. “So wonderful..."

“Usagi?” Naru poked her arm with a pencil, but it was no use. The girl was a million miles away, lost in delusion.

The classroom door slid open. Usagi snapped to reality, complete with the weight of her grades. She whimpered. What if the new teacher wasn’t nice at all? What if she was a whip-cracking taskmaster who expected too much of her students?

Heaven help her, she couldn’t stand to look…

“Good morning, class,” said the teacher in clear, refined English.

Her fears abated. There was no monster at the head of the class. In fact it was the opposite, for standing in front of the teacher’s desk was the most beautiful woman Usagi had ever seen!

She was more than Umino described. Tall as a tree, slender and powerful, with tight calves below her pencil skirt. A foreigner, with deep tan skin, long raven waves cascading down her shoulders, and blue eyes as clear as a tropical beach. They glistened through her glasses when she smiled, and what a smile it was! Confident, yet compassionate, that promised any who saw it that everything would be alright.

“My name,” she said, slowly, but still in English, “is Miss Prince. I look forward to knowing each of you. Let’s get along.” The teacher bowed. Her wild hair bounced with her movements.

Usagi was a puddle on the floor. What had she done to be graced by an angel?

“Miss Tsukino?”

She gasped and bolted upright. The teacher knew her name. She actually noticed her!

“Sensei?”

The woman beamed at her. “In English, please.”

Usagi furrowed, but found the words. “Y-yes, Miss Prince?”

She smiled with such warmth that the girl’s cheeks burned. “English is not your best subject,” she said, “but I believe in you, Miss Tsukino. Let’s work together to improve your grades, okay?”

A cocktail of emotion swirled in her chest, more than allowed room for shame. Of all the students before her, Miss Prince had chosen Usagi to dote upon. It would have been one thing if there was an edge of cruelty, but the teacher lacked any trace of unkindness whatsoever. She wanted for her students - for Usagi - to succeed!

Her muscles oozed into jelly, and her head hit the desk. English became harder with such a beautiful distraction, but somehow Usagi knew it’d be okay.

* * *

The school gates were quiet, even pleasant without an army of teenagers swarming through them, but that didn’t put the soldier at ease. Not anything, including the influence of a dark world, looming in wait, came close to the awkwardness of his post.

He pulled his cap further down and hid under the shadow of its brim. It wasn’t an undercover job in the strictest sense, but the last thing he needed was for someone to identify him.

“I feel like such a creep,” he said, apparently to nobody.

A woman’s voice crackled in his ear.  _ “You’re just doing your job, Colonel.” _

Colonel Steve Trevor, US Air Force, on assignment in Japan, huffed. Though war was a hell of its own, there was a dignity to the battlefield that evaded him. And yet he couldn’t refuse because a friend asked him for a favor.

“My job has me standing outside a middle school,” he said. “I feel like a dirty old man.”

The woman laughed into the receiver.  _ “You’re not that old.” _

“Most of these kids are half my age, or less!”

_ “Now you’re underselling it,” _ she said.

Colonel Trevor frowned. She was right, but that was no reason to say it out loud. “I’ll remember that remark during your next evaluation.” He was joking, mostly.

He ruminated for a moment on what could have been; if his plane never crashed on an island of immortal warrior women, or he was assigned their champion as his escort. The Cheetah, Silver Swan - even the war god, Ares - might never have blipped on his radar, along with their horrors.

Then again, what an adventure!

A momentary lapse of focus loosed a smile. A life without Diana. Despite the monsters and the danger, life was richer with her in it. That was something he’d never trade - not for all the treasure and comforts in the world.

A breeze hissed between the leaves. As far as omens went it was an understatement. Neither the brightness of the day or gentle wisps in the sky punctuated the oncoming disaster.

_ “Colonel. Ten o’clock.” _

He peered toward the far wall where, with guile and fleet of foot, a dark haired man - barely an adult by the look of him - leapt over the school fence.

The intruder was a civilian, and one dressed for a ball. A cape and top hat? Seriously? Probably some yuppie punk sneaking in to see his girlfriend, trying to be romantic. Only a fool would do that while class was in session. Regardless, Colonel Trevor couldn’t leave it to chance.

“I see him.”

He sprinted along the perimeter and vaulted over the wall. There was no time for stealth - the target was on the move. He charged through the bushes and into the long end of a cane. Next thing Colonel Trevor knew he was eating dirt while the dapper young man lorded over him.

“Sorry to cut this chase short,” he said, “but I have urgent business to attend to.”

His words made no impact on the colonel, and still wouldn’t have if they spoke the same language. Driven by fury and grit, Steve Trevor rolled into a crouch and pounced, throwing fists with all the precision he could muster.

_ “You okay, Steve?” _ asked the woman over the radio.

“M’fine,” he lied.

The masked stranger danced around the blows the same as a matador maneuvered a raging bull. Though he drew no enjoyment from it. Time was growing short. He reached into his coat and, using the stem as a dart, flung a rose at the soldier’s feet.

It struck the dirt hard enough for the Colonel to think twice, and long enough for the gentleman prowler to make his escape; so fast that he lost him in a blink.

He was alone with his humiliation. Just what had he been dragged into this time?

_ “Colonel Trevor, I don’t have a visual,” _ said the voice in his ear.  _ “Do you need backup?” _

He brushed the dirt off his sleeve and groaned. “No. No, Etta. I’m fine. I’m-”

Something changed - something so small that the Colonel couldn’t say what, but he noticed it all the same. Gravity, perhaps? The air? Something that threw the world out of sync; something that called him to find shelter.

And then he saw it, high in the sky, smaller than the sun, but just as bright - brighter. It’s eerie glow stained azure into a sickly purple, and pressed into his mind’s eye like a dagger. 

_ Flee, _ it demanded without words.  _ Flee! _

“Please tell me I’m not the only one seeing this.”

_ “I-I see it too, Colonel,” _ said Etta.  _ “What in the world is it?” _

He couldn’t determine how near the thing was, or how far, only that when the thing exploded trouble was destined to follow. The light burst across the sky, covering everything from horizon to horizon - and in doing so released what looked to be a thousand birds, stained the same color as the star.

Colonel Trevor sprinted for the building. “Etta! Call for backup! We’ve got incoming!”

* * *

Miss Prince sauntered between the desks, book in hand, and read aloud to the class. 

“Immortal Aphrodite, on your intricately brocaded throne, child of Zeus, weaver of wiles, this I pray: Dear Lady, don’t crush my heart with pains and sorrows..."

Usagi didn’t need to know the words to be utterly captivated by them. The teacher’s voice was like that of a songbird, sweet and uplifting, lighter than air. Maybe, Usagi wondered, Miss Prince was a pop idol in her younger days, back in whatever magical land she’d stepped from.

Every so often the teacher’s sapphire eyes found Usagi, and for a short eternity rested on her. The girl’s heart beat out of control. Miss Prince was looking at her, and nobody else! She followed the teacher, tracking where her gaze landed just to be sure, but that attention was hers and hers alone. Usagi’s cheeks burned so hot they were almost steaming!

Did Miss Prince know? What an embarrassing thought! Yet Usagi hoped, and prayed...

She circled the room, drawing every eye with her. It seemed Usagi wasn’t the only one in awe. Miss Prince fluttered her lashes. Did she know the effect she had on a room? If she did she accepted the fact with grace, never flustered by the attention of students. Somehow that made her more beautiful.

So lost was Usagi in her adoration that she didn’t register the teacher’s change in mood. Then there was a flash of light. Usagi blinked at the phenomenon and tilted her head.

Miss Prince barked, switching languages. “Get away from the windows!”

Next she knew there was glass shattering, and beating of wings so loud they stifled the screams of the students. 

Usagi squealed, shielded herself with a book, and pushed into the throng squeezing through the door. The ringing was enough to drive anyone running.

“Somebody please tell me what’s going on!”

Terror flushed the flattery out of her system, freezing her chest in panic. Once that might have stopped the girl in her tracks, but a voice in the back of her mind called to press forward. There was more at stake than her own safety, and only one equal to the task.

This was a job for Sailor Moon... if she could make it that far.

**_À suivre..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! An advance release of chapter three is available here on my site, http://mirandasparks.com/wonder-woman-sailor-moon-under-the-eye-of-planet-x-chapter-3/
> 
> Do check it out, and leave a comment!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something evil this way comes. Can Rei warn her fellow Sailor Guardians on time?

There was a time - only minutes before, in fact - when Usagi’s biggest problems involved a low test score in English class. Oh, how she longed for so mild a struggle!

She sprinted down the hallway, driven by the flying beasts nipping at their heels. What were these things? And what did they want?

But there was no time for questions; not if she wanted to make it out in one piece!

Usagi jerked around a corner and vaulted down the stairwell. The part-bird, part-man, part-demon creatures broke away from the pursuit of her classmates, and concentrated their efforts on her.

Why?

Usagi cried. “I don’t want to be some bird-brain’s lunch meat!”

For every step she made they gained by two. Time was running short. Usagi wouldn’t even make the door!

The air cut with a violent ‘thwip!’ The monsters doubled back. Against her better judgement, Usagi turned back to where a rose sat embedded in the chest of their leader.

Her heart skipped, for between her and the monsters was a human barricade, dressed in black with a grand cape billowing behind him. The hero ran his fingers along the brim of his top hat, and lifted it to reveal the extent of his disguise.

“Tuxedo Mask!”

Mamoru Chiba, in another life the Earth prince Endymion, and soulmate to the moon princess, Serenity! Theirs was a love that crossed time itself - from a bygone era, well into the modern day and beyond - and who by a name continued to be her protector.

How many times had he come for her in a pinch? Just the sight of him was a comfort, staving off alarm long enough to pull together. Usagi swooned, caught up in the grace of the dapper defender. How lucky she was to have him as a boyfriend!

“I’ll hold them off,” he said, and spun his cane in one hand.

He didn’t need to say so twice. Usagi bolted for the double doors and pressed into the yard. Sweet freedom! But it was not to last. The monsters blanketed the bruise colored sky, and swarmed en masse.

Usagi cried. Right, bad guys. Why did she have all the rotten luck?

“Usagi!”

She turned to the side entrance where three other girls raced to her side; Ami, Mina, and Mako - allies of justice, as well as best friends. Usagi collapsed into the collective arms, and sobbed for the momentary reprieve.

“They’re after me,” she whined.

Mako balled her fists. “They want a piece of you, Usagi? They’ll have to go through us!”

Thank the heavens for friends. If Usagi was ever strong it was because of them; their love, their bravery, pushing her to new heights. Even now, surrounded, her fears settled, though only by a little.

“It’s all for one, and all for love!” Mina chirped.

Ami frowned. “That’s not how the proverb goes.”

In a cacophony of screeching the monsters converged, lashing at them with beaks and claws. The girls fell over themselves, crawling to get away, with no room to transform. All they needed was one clean break to turn the tide.

Salvation came in a golden ribbon. It looped around the monsters, and wrenched them back with a mighty pull.

Usagi gasped, for at the other end of the rope was her teacher, Miss Prince, with glasses cracked and pantyhose slashed. She’d abandoned her high heels, but given her determination figured appearances were the least on her mind.

“Who’s that?” Ami asked.

Miss Prince abandoned her spectacles. With a single blow planted another monster into the dirt. She turned to the girls and instructed them, no longer with a song in her voice, but a battle cry. 

“Usagi! Transform into Sailor Moon!”

The girl froze. How did Miss Prince know about Sailor Moon?

Usagi watched, stupefied, as the teacher twisted, turned, spun in all directions, while landing precise strikes on the converging throng. Miss Prince discarded her blazer and became a bright whirl. When she landed it was as someone else; more than a woman, adorned in a blazing red korsage and a blue, star spangled leather skirt.

“My-my-my teacher,” Usagi stammered. It wasn’t possible. What was she doing in Japan, let alone her school?

No matter how many times she blinked, the vision of the amazon remained. This, she realised, was real. Not a dream, but actual reality! The heroine stood before her, a veritable fairytale brought to life!

It couldn’t be... could it?

“Wonder Woman is my English teacher!”

The heroine snapped a monster down with a kick, and moved effortlessly into the next blow, like a woman who could fight the tide and win. Truly she was a wonder.

Every girl knew the story of Diana of Themyscira. Born on an island of immortal warrior women, sculpted from clay by Queen Hippolyta, and given life by the collective goddesses of Olympus. When they could no longer hide from the world outside, Diana won by trial the role of ambassador, and since that day proved herself to the world as a champion of truth and justice.

She was like a figure from a storybook, larger than life itself - a legend! Was this really the same woman who smiled at her in English class? Usagi was fascinated, her breathing shallow, as she caught the shimmering blue of Wonder Woman’s gaze. It really was her!

‘Miss Prince’ snapped. “Usagi!”

It was no time to be a fangirl. There was a job to do!

Usagi offered her broach to the sky, opening it to reveal the shining gem inside. She cried at the top of her lungs;  _ “Moon Crystal Power... Make Up!” _

Cascading waves in all colors of the rainbow showered her with power undreamed, stripping away her mortal identity and adorning her with the vestiges of a champion; a short navy skirt and a red bow on the front of her uniform, a moon tiara and bright gems on her blond buns. Gone was the girl named Usagi Tsukino, and in her place stood a hero.

“I am the guardian of love and justice!” she declared. “And in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

There were those who thought Sailor Moon to be an urban myth, and who could blame them! A girl in a sailor suit, fighting evil in the night? Not even Usagi believed it, and that was her life! If someone were to ask, she’d say she was an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances, doing what she did because only she could.

Sailor Moon flew into the fray, diving at the beasts Wonder Woman was handling alone. They fell - two, three, more - to the strength of her kicks, knocking them one by one into the dirt.

She grinned at her friends. “Are you going to stand there, or are you going to join the party?”

Ami, Mina and Mako - Sailors Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, respectively - wasted no time transforming. For a thousand years they served under moon princess, and they would serve her for a thousand more.

_ “Mercury Prism Power... Make Up!” _

_ “Venus Prism Power... Make Up!” _

_ “Jupiter Prism Power... Make Up!” _

They were the Sailor Guardians, protectors from across the solar system, with powers equal to Princess Serenity. Only the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal set them apart, but never did it shake their devotion.

They would die for her - Usagi knew that, and they had more than once. But despite their resurrections, the wound on her heart remained. 

Sailor Moon blinked away the tears. There was no time to think about that. She put her trust in them, just as they trusted her.

With the powers of water, radiance and lightning, the three tore through the horde, thinning out their number until only a handful remained. It wouldn’t be long, however, before they replenished.

Wonder Woman smiled a determined smile - one that held pride and, though restrained, awe. 

Usagi caught the flash of encouragement and swelled. To be noticed by an idol so grand was beyond her.

“Now, Sailor Moon!”

The young heroine produced a wand - the Moon Stick, conduit of the Legendary Silver Crystal - and channeled it toward the circling beasts. The crescent moon emblem blazed with power not of this world, casting them in soft, comforting, but still blinding light. 

Like a river flowing from the heart, her love filled the wand, warming it in her hands. Sailor Moon turned into a pirouette and cast waves of energy. They fell like a blanket of stars, each filled to bursting; quantifying her feelings a million fold over the battlefield, connecting with every soul aching for freedom, and wiping away the darkness.

Her voice echoed to the heavens.  _ “Moon Healing Escalation!” _

A million points of light fell in an elegant display, destroying the monster and scattering their energy to the wind. 

Though her attack did not end with the agents of evil. The Legendary Silver Crystal eased the fury of the sky, calling back the peaceful blue. As suddenly as it began, so did it end.

The young heroine exhaled. At last, it was over.

“What were those things?”

“Sailor Moon!” The Sailor Guardians huddled to make certain she was safe. They really were remarkable, each and every one. Who knows what Usagi would do without them?

“Princess Serenity..."

She turned, and what she saw made Sailor Moon freeze in her tracks. There was Wonder Woman - wearing scrapes and scratches, but still radiant in a way few others were - sitting on bended knee with her head bowed.

* * *

Sailor Moon balked. Why would one of the greatest heroes in the world bow to  _ her _ ? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

She squirmed, searching her thoughts for the proper protocol. She had nothing, so she laughed. It was a weak laugh. Awkward!

“I apologize for the ruse,” Wonder Woman said effortlessly in Usagi’s native tongue. “I am Diana, princess of Themyscira, and I come to you in the spirit of peace and camaraderie.”

Sailor Moon reeled. There was no way to process this! She was her English teacher who believed in her, but she was also...

“You’re Wonder Woman! A-a-are you kidding? You don’t need to kneel before me!” The cocktail of confusion, flattery and a million other feelings ran rampant.

A tight smirk curled the corner of the warrior’s lips. “I kneel in loving and trusting submission,” she said, “to honor the bond forged between the amazons and Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago.”

Sailor Moon and her companions stopped. This had to be a dream, or something out of a doujin. It wasn’t every day their fate was tied to other heroes, but Wonder Woman? She was more famous than anyone!

_ I’d definitely read that manga, _ Usagi thought.

“You know about the Moon Kingdom?” asked Sailor Mercury.

Wonder Woman stood, and nodded. “A long time ago my mother, Queen Hippolyta, and Queen Serenity, stood as allies against a common foe; one that sought to pervert the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal to its own ends.”

Sailor Jupiter jumped and shook Sailor Moon’s shoulder. “She knows about the Legendary Silver Crystal!”

“Are we going to team up?” Sailor Venus gasped. “This is so cool! This is why you should always meet your heroes.”

Sailor Moon was still. Her mother and Diana’s were connected. Could it be true?

Usagi grasped the memories of her past life and weighed them against her heart. Once upon a time she was just a girl; being a princess was something she could only imagine - but this shared history with a heroine given life by the gods of myth? Between the awe and excitement she couldn’t contain herself.

“Then in the spirit of peace and camaraderie, I welcome you, Diana of Femme-Mascara,” she said, trying her utmost to sound regal. “So, uh, what brings you to this part of town? Not just to see me, I hope!”

Even in her imagination she could sense Rei rolling her eyes.  _ Smooth, Usagi. _

Before the princess had an opportunity to answer, a solid man in a baseball cap came sprinting at them across the yard. A friend of Wonder Woman? He had to be; she eased as he approached.

Sailor Jupiter barked. “You’re that creep who was hanging outside the school!”

He growled something in another language, prompting a chuckle from Diana. He was not amused.

“What’d he say?”

“He asked that someone explain that he’s a soldier, not a creep,” Sailor Mercury said.

Wonder Woman reigned her amusement. “This is my friend, Colonel Steve Trevor, US Air Force,” she explained. “He’s - how should I put it - a fellow envoy, and a dear, dear friend. He’s not as scary as he looks.”

Sailor Jupiter folded her arms. “He’s not that scary.” The others laughed.

Colonel Trevor, however, had no time for jokes. He pulled Diana to one side and explained the situation, though most could not understand. Wonder Woman furrowed her brow. Sailor Mercury deflated.

Sailor Moon took Mercury’s arm. “Ami, what’s he saying?”

“There’s more of those monsters,” she said. “They’re scattered all over the city. But after we transformed, they... they broke off their attack. Now they’re coming here!”

“We need to brace ourselves,” Wonder Woman said. “Sailor Moon, Sailor Guardians; an age old enemy approaches. I will fight it until my last breath. Can I count on your help?”

If there was a higher calling, Usagi couldn’t imagine it. To fight alongside the ambassador of peace, princess of the amazons,  _ the _ Wonder Woman? Nobody would refuse! No matter the danger, it promised to be the adventure of a lifetime!

“Always,” she said, and steeled herself for the battle ahead.

“Good. Because what I have to ask of you is the most difficult task for any warrior.”

“Whatever it takes,” Sailor Moon said. “If Wonder Woman asks, I know we’ll succeed!”

Wonder Woman frowned. “In that case, Sailor Moon, I beseech you, in the name of our lands and for all of the Earth, please  _ do not _ continue to fight.”

Usagi blinked, and so did her friends. That had to be a mistranslation.

“I... what?”

Sailor Mercury was the first to find her words. “Princess Diana, that can’t be right. Even now the enemy approaches, and you want us to do nothing?”

The hero nodded.

What joy had filled Usagi’s chest ran cold. It wasn’t just the opportunity to stand with greatness that was denied - that was the least of it - but having the power to act, and allowing evil to run rampant?

“You don’t know what you’re asking!” Sailor Jupiter barked.

Diana tensed. The girls stiffened. Had they done something to anger her? And their first team-up was going so well…

She cast her eyes in shame, and fought to still herself.

“I know better than you can imagine,” Wonder Woman said. “It’s against the nature of a guardian to be stagnant, even when their actions might make a situation worse. I’m sorry, Sailor Moon. I don’t make this request lightly.”

Usagi blinked. She couldn’t believe her ears. Stand down? This enemy had brought the fight to her, and here was this woman, perhaps the greatest of all heroes, asking her to back away.

A surge of panic gripped her chest. No, this was wrong. She’d asked friends to fight on her behalf, and seen them fall. The air in her lungs froze. Only by miracles did her friends return to her. Could she take the chance of a third time?

No. Losing them again was too much; not if she couldn’t fight by their side!

She looked to Wonder Woman, and words fell short. There was something sobering about her grimace, which was not one of disapproval, but pleading.  _ This is the way it has to be, _ she didn’t say, and Usagi believed her. For what was Wonder Woman if not an agent of unyielding truth, no matter how uncomfortable?

* * *

There was little time to consider her words before the sky darkened in a shade more furious than before. Planet X loomed, projecting ill vibrations upon all crossing its orbit. What a terrifying body it was, that flooded the world with loathing.

The heroines planted their feet, bracing for the worst.

From the distance the war birds screeched, and nearer a body struck the earth. It rose from smoke and dust. 

Wonder Woman, Sailor Moon and their companions shielded their eyes, and once the debris settled, looked upon the approaching abomination.

It had the antlers of a bull, but the muzzle of a lion; hair of snakes and an eagle’s wings. It was human only in the loosest sense, standing on two feet and flailing arms as wide as trees. The thing roared and screeched and hissed in disharmony, grating on all who heard it.

What manner of monster was this, with all the menace of nature distilled into one form. All who laid eyes on it knew on a primordial level - the Sailor Guardians included - that this was a thing to be feared, to be hated. Its bite, fearsome as it was, was equal to its bark.

“I’ve come for Sailor Moon!” she declared.

Usagi inched behind the other Sailor Guardians. This was supposed to be her enemy? She was suddenly glad Diana asked her to step back.

Where she faltered, Wonder Woman advanced. If the amazon knew fear she didn’t show it. With lasso in hand she prepared for battle, daring the thing approach.

“You’ll have to go through me first!”

**_À suivre..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! For an advance reading of the next chapter, head to: http://mirandasparks.com/wonder-woman-sailor-moon-under-the-eye-of-planet-x-chapter-4/


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planet X tips its hand, revealing its agent, the former amazon Larisa! But is she all that she appears?

Claws rang against Wonder Woman’s indestructible bracelets like a bell starting a title bout. Amazon and chimera grappled in a show of strength that cracked the earth beneath their feet. A putrid stink roared from the mutant’s jowls, but Diana of Themyscira did not waver.

“Sailor Moon!” she cried. “Get to safety! Now!”

But the heroine was frozen. She had to do more than run. How could she abandon an ally? She balled her fists, fighting to tear away. A part of her would love to hide, and cry, but her heart knew different.

But this was Wonder Woman asking! She was the real hero; smarter, faster, stronger in every sense. So why couldn’t Usagi just listen to her?

Planet X shimmered like a mirage, radiating discord on a cosmic scale. It emerged from the corners of the void more mysteriously than its intent, whether or not it was conscious. An ill wind blew, as though the elements themselves were attempting to flee.

A throng of winged beasts congregated and charged like daggers from Heaven - or somewhere darker. There were dozens, maybe hundreds! No one hero stood a chance against such overwhelming force.

Sailor Moon shielded her face with a squeal. This was it. They had her for sure!

Fortunately, she was not alone.

“Fire soul!”

Flame erupted in an immense ball launching into the heart of the multitude. The monsters scattered. Those caught in the line of fire beat their wings in vain.

At the origin stood a girl in a sailor uniform, with black hair and a red skirt. Sailor Mars - Rei - glared at her teammate.

“Go, Sailor Moon! We’ll protect you!”

The passions of Sailor Mars were unrelenting. In Roman mythology her namesake was the god of war; a fitting title for one whose flame tore through evil without forgiveness. Though they were different fires, that same directness clashed with friend and foe alike.

Usagi knew that best of all.

Sailor Mars tore through the monsters, single minded in her charge. Perhaps she most of all had the mettle for combat, and insight to where the strikes should land. But, capable though she was, the heroine would not be without her allies - her  _ friends _ .

* * *

A string of attacks unleashed against the monsters. Against one they were formidable, but against the combined force of the Sailor Guardians?

Sailor Venus called upon a whip of golden light, beaded with pearls. “Venus Love-Me Chain!” It twirled around her body, snapped between their enemies, and rent the dark energies holding their corporeal form.

From her tiara, Sailor Jupiter produced an antenna, through which the guardian channeled her power. “Jupiter Thunderbolt!” Surges of electricity leapt at their foes, from one body to the next, dousing them with an overwhelming charge. Lightning poured through the endless chain, bringing more to the ground.

Those that landed quickly met Sailor Mercury. “Shine Aqua Illusion!” Under the sailor scout’s guiding hand a torrent crashed down on the monsters, striking them like a tempest, washing them from the battlefield.

Sailor Moon shook herself to reason. Of course she wasn’t powerless, so long as she had her friends. They all had a role to play, after all.

* * *

“Rei, Mina, Mako, Ami. Thank you,” she said without shame.

Usagi ran, and winced with every hard sound at her back. Her friends could handle themselves - Wonder Woman could handle herself; they all said so. Trusting them was a choice, and though she’d made it many times before Usagi committed herself to it again.

Though she did not make it far. A figure in a tattered grey robe appeared in her path.

“Greetings, Princess Serenity,” said the woman under the shroud.

Usagi seized. Whoever this stranger was, she was wrong - just wrong - like someone that did not belong to her world or any other; someone so fundamentally alien that it defied explanation.

Sailor Moon steeled her resolve. “Who-who are you? What are you?”

The stranger removed her hood. She was little more than a girl, barely a woman; beautiful in her symmetry, demure, but vacant. Her eyes were dull and empty, betraying a dearth of thought behind them.

_ How strange, _ Usagi thought. Where there should have been a monster there was this - she didn’t know else how to describe it - doll. A person that wasn’t a person, oblivious to her surroundings. This was the danger she needed protection from? But if Wonder Woman was here she had to be serious.

* * *

Diana of Themyscira twirled with a kick, knocking her monstrous foe off balance. But Lady Chimera did not stay down for long. The two traded blows with equal fervor, with no sign of yielding. They might have been at it all night had Wonder Woman not spotted the princess.

Alarm propelled the Amazon away from the beast. She charged across the battlefield. “Sailor Moon! Get away from her!”

* * *

“My name,” the girl said, her features twisting with new life, “is Larisa.”

“Larisa...?”

She watched, fascinated and horrified by the surge coursing through the strangers body. 

At one moment Larisa was idle, and the next she was on the precipice of war, with Sailor Moon forefront in her sights.

Anxiety lingered, but Usagi swallowed it down. “You don’t look so tough,” she lied.

Larisa raised her arm, and produced a stone as black as pitch, the same as Larisa’s eyes. It appeared to glow - or the opposite of glowing - absorbing the light around it. In it was the antithesis of all life; the inevitable pit to which all things fell.

Sailor Moon shook. She couldn’t bear such a thing to exist. It had to be destroyed! She grasped her Moon Stick, and calling upon the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal, aimed it toward the darkness.

_ “Moon... healing..." _

Every enemy she’d ever known reeled in the face of the Moon Stick, but Larisa didn’t flinch. In fact, she was anticipating it! By the time Usagi recognised that something was wrong it was too late. 

Disaster was but a split second away!

Sailor Moon jerked under a mighty pull. She gasped, then discovered that which halted her in her tracks; an endless golden lasso encapsulating her chest and arm. On the other end was Wonder Woman, who with another firm tug dragged the heroine into her arms.

Usagi’s face crashed against the amazon’s neck. Diana’s hold on her was firm yet tender in a way she hadn’t known before, not even in Mamo’s arms. 

She looked up to the heroine, whose stern features remained fixed on the enemy. The warmth of the lasso held her like an old friend, and she knew that though they had only met, this person would fight for her protection.

“Be careful, Sailor Moon,” Wonder Woman said. “Larisa would use your powers against you.”

Larisa...?

Usagi whirled at Wonder Woman, by habit to give her a piece of her mind. What was the big idea, butting into her battle? Just when she had the baddies cornered!

She stopped upon realising the weight on the princess’ brow. Diana furrowed, not daring to look the young heroine in the eye. Whatever the amazon carried cut deeper than words.

The lasso fell slack, and Sailor Moon stood at the ready with Wonder Woman at her side.

* * *

Claws slashed the length of Wonder Woman’s back. She fell to her knees, grunted, but even with the pain didn’t cry out.

Sailor Moon flew with a kick, crying with indignant rage, but Lady Chimera jumped clear.

Diana found her feet, and the two heroes came back to back against two different enemies.

The amazon’s breathing became heavy. She was hurt. How was she hurt? She was Wonder Woman; she was supposed to be invincible! Bullets bounced off her, and swords shattered. Most of all, she never bled. That’s how the story was  _ supposed _ to go!

The amazon forced a smirk. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve had worse.”

Not worry? “That’s easy for you to say,” Sailor Moon quipped. Worrying, despite being her least favorite hobby, was also the one to demand the most attention.

Larisa radiated with a hatred fermented for countless lifetimes. It was palpable under the atmosphere of Planet X, and saturated all caught within it. 

Now matter how many times Usagi stared malice in the face she wondered,  _ what happened to make you like this? _ More than most people could ever dream, she supposed; and more than anyone could summon from nightmares.

Somewhere, deep down, there was a decent person inside Larisa. Sailor Moon was sure of it! Wounded, perhaps; misguided - because people don’t just turn evil. She searched the stranger, but found nothing. 

Sailor Moon wanted to cry.

“I did not claw my way out of Tartarus to be denied power,” Larisa seethed, but it wasn’t Larisa. Someone, or something, was using her voice. “Give me the Legendary Silver Crystal!”

Usagi clutched the Moon Stick to her chest. Of all the treasures of the universe it was among the most sacred. In the wrong hands it was a source of endless suffering. Many villains had attempted to lay claim to it - all failed. Larisa was but the last in a long, long line.

“Not even if you said ‘please’!” she cried.

Wonder Woman remained locked with her opponent, though the smirk carried in her voice. “They told me you were strong,” she said.

Sailor Moon blushed. What a time for compliments!

The battle of two on two shifted with the sound of rifles cocking. At the triggers were a sturdy woman with weaved hair tied back, and Colonel Trevor, with Larisa positioned in his sights.

“So you know, we’re packing the special ordinance saved for you meta types,” the Colonel said. “Same goes Lieutenant Candy over here. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”

“You bet your butt, Colonel,” she said.

Sailor Moon frowned, wishing she were better at English.

The blanket of wings and noise lifted from the battlefield, making way for the Sailor Scouts. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter each landed in an alert crouch, positioned at either side of their allies.

Wonder Woman taunted her foes. “More than an even match for your like, wouldn’t you say?”

Lady Chimera snarled, but Larisa did not waver. The sorceress stepped away and into the magics curling at her heels. Her monstrous companion followed suit, giving over to the ether. They said nothing, and vanished.

* * *

The haze lifted from over the schoolyard, and purple skies gave way to the everyday blue. The sun shone without the sickly filter twisting its warmth, and all it touched lifted with new life.

All was as it should be; all, save for the dim sphere still hanging above, threatening the world from afar.

Wonder Woman fell to one knee and grunted. The wound along her back ran deep.

Usagi squatted to inspect the damage. Diana would endure, there was no question of that - but the cost of her heroism was paid in blood. What cruel fate it was for peace to demand such a price.

She helped the amazon to her feet. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Diana said, and was genuine. The razor cuts did not appear to bother her at all. 

“Sailor Moon,” she said. “We need to talk.”

* * *

There’s nothing remarkable about the Game Crown Center. The middle and high schoolers spent all their free time married to the Sailor V arcade game, but that was nothing special.

Few might have suspected that beyond skill testers and racing sims was a hyperspace control room folded into a pocket reality - the secret base of the Sailor Guardians!

Chibi-Usa’s mouth hung agape. She watched intently as translucent energy poured from an unknown device.

‘The Purple Ray’, they called it. Technology developed by the amazons over thousands of years, able to heal any wound. Scratches, infections, diseases - you name it!

Chibi-Usa had seen devices just like it in the future, where she was born, and the world was still catching up. She sighed, thinking of the little things, as well as her Mama and Papa as they were; as they were currently growing up to be.

Lieutenant Candy gripped the handles on the dish and aimed it at Wonder Woman’s back. The air tickled with ozone, gently enough that most mightn’t notice. The furious wounds eased in seconds, and melded until Diana’s back was without blemish.

The girl squeaked. “Amazing!”

“Amazing! Amazing!” echoed the cat-faced ball in her arms. It rocked from side to side, twitching its ears, and flailing the antenna above it’s head.

Steve and Etta remembered their first time seeing the Purple Ray. They called it impossible. Light stitching wounds closed? That was more than science-fiction; it was pure fantasy! And yet the evidence sat before their very eyes, repeated again and again, until they too were using it to heal their friend.

Wonder Woman beamed, thanked them, and patted Chibi-Usa’s crown. The girl loosed a sound of delight so high that only half of them heard. They all chuckled. A child’s laughter was clear in any language.

“I have a cat named Diana,” Chibi-Usa said, “except that she’s in the future.”

The amazon grinned. “I have a friend named Artemis, except that she’s not a cat. She’s from Themyscira, like me.”

“Someone say my name?” asked the white cat, whose name was Artemis.

Sailor Moon fumed at her ‘little sister’. Who did that twerp think she was, stealing Wonder Woman’s attention? This was supposed to be  _ her _ team-up; epic and outstanding, the subject of comics and cartoons and feature films!

“You know she’s older than she looks,” Usagi said to Wonder Woman.

The amazon smirked. “Aren’t we all?”

Usagi blinked. What was that supposed to mean? Then it hit her. Wonder Woman was from an island of immortal women! Who could say how old they were? She kicked herself for being oblivious.

* * *

A hard grin was fixed on Lieutenant Candy’s face all through their banter, but it was fading. She turned to Colonel Trevor, who shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know what they’re saying.”

Sailor Mercury smiled a meek smile. “Actually,” she said, in English, “I have something that might help!”

Her fingers danced over the console as she moved between monitors. Strings of information scrolled along the projector. A number of green lights dinged with approval.

With all her knowledge, it was a cinch to solve their collective problem. It was only a matter of words, after all. And with the accumulated data in their computer, all she had to do was put two and two together.

The small black cat jumped on the panel. “Excellent work, Ami! You’ve configured the translation matrix!”

The lieutenant fought to close her jaw. “Did... did that cat just talk?”

“I think it did,” Colonel Trevor said, equally baffled.

Wonder Woman stood by the cat. “No need to be so rude,” she said, running a hand along her fur. The cat nuzzled her head into Diana’s hand. “Steve, Etta, this is Luna. Luna, these are my very dear friends.”

“A-a pleasure,” Steve said.

“Likewise,” said Etta.

It should have come as no surprise. Colonel Trevor had spoken with lions, bulls and vipers in his storied career, along with a handful of chimps and gorillas. The more he thought about it, a talking house cat wasn’t much different.

* * *

Sailor Mars folded her arms. They could talk all day if nobody put their foot down. “Now that we’ve solved our communication problem, don’t you think it’s time we focused on Larisa and Lady Chimera?”

Usagi stiffened, heavy with the knowledge that she was no good to anyone in this fight. What was she even doing there? The other Sailor Guardians could carry on without her.

“If Usagi’s not going to fight, then she should go home and catch up on homework,” Chibi-Usa said.

The girl fumed. “You little brat!”

So much for focusing on the task at hand.

Chibi-Usa demanded Usagi act like an adult, but Usagi countered saying that Chibi-Usa was the little sister, therefore it wasn’t her place to tell grown-ups what to do! To which Chibi-Usa was quick to remind Usagi that she wasn’t a grown up, and hadn’t yet earned an adult’s respect, et cetera.

A collective groan filled the room. This argument, again?

“It’s true, isn’t it, Miss Prince? Usagi needs to study if she’s going to learn anything!” The pink haired child beamed up at the amazon, eager for approval.

Wonder Woman guided Chibi-Usa with a gentle hand. “I’m afraid there’s no time for that, young one. We still need Sailor Moon. She’s going to play an essential role in what lies ahead.”

Usagi tilted. “But I thought you said-”

She placed a hand on Usagi’s shoulder, and met her with the same soft knowing they shared in the classroom.

Diana flinched so slightly that Usagi almost missed it. For the briefest moment she wasn’t the princess, an ambassador of peace, or a diplomat. She was something entirely more human, even vulnerable. 

The amazon, whom she’d always imagined wore her heart on her sleeve, hid it well.

“I asked you to step away from the battle,” she said, “but you still have a place amongst your sisters. Worry not, Sailor Moon. So long as we work together, fight hard, and believe in one another, there’s nothing that can stand in our way.”

Her sisters? Usagi scanned the room. Sailor Mercury, loyal and true; Sailor Venus, able to light up any room; Sailor Mars, burning with passion; and Sailor Jupiter, a compassionate powerhouse if ever there was one. Even Chibi-Usa had a place in their family which spanned over millennia to come.

Sailor Moon’s heart leaped. She couldn’t doubt those words, even if she wanted to.

“What do you need me to do?” she asked.

Wonder Woman drew a deep breath. “To understand what we face, you must first understand the origins of our enemy. One thousand years ago, the amazons and the Moon Kingdom shared a sacred bond, and a vicious foe born under the influence of Planet X.”

**_À suivre..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> And again, for advance chapters, you can hit up my site: mirandasparks.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planet X tips its hand, revealing its agent, the former amazon Larisa! But is she all that she appears?

“Were you to look upon Larisa one thousand years ago, you would not recognise her in the woman she’s become; quiet, bookish, good natured and curious. She was a lover of knowledge, brimming with wonder, with her head stuck in the clouds.

“On Themyscira she was an astronomer, often sleeping through the daylight hours and camping in the wilderness, where the light of civilization wouldn’t dull her vision. She, along with a band of sisters, dedicated themselves to recording the heavens, plotting their course across eternity.

“Then, one fateful night, an aberrant body appeared in the sky that Larisa did not anticipate. Her sisters urged her to turn away, sensing evil from the thing, but Larisa was fascinated. Planet X, which was then called Nibiru, had her in its grasp, and the Amazon was forever changed.

“The next night, Larisa abandoned Themyscira for man’s world, never to be heard from again - or so we thought.

“Little did my mother know that a war raged across the ocean, and that the sister we once celebrated made an enemy in the Moon Kingdom of old. Under the influence of Nibiru, she became the antithesis of Queen Serenity; and where the queen had the Legendary Silver Crystal at her command, so too did Larisa have a gem of her own - the ‘Onyx Prism’.

“Her power was like nothing the world had seen before - more wild than the beasts of the forest, lashing across continents without discrimination, with no greater reason than the destruction it wrought. No amount of healing light could halt her reign of terror, for under the shadow of Nibiru she could redirect Serenity’s power as darkness in equal measure.

“It was with that power that she made her final transformation, ascending as a champion of chaos under the name ‘Sailor X’.

“When she learned of the plight besetting the Moon Kingdom, my mother, the Amazon Queen Hippolyta, felt a deep responsibility for the actions of her sister. For this, she chose to temporarily suspend her seclusion, along with that of our people, to aid in this terrible battle. 

“Thus, on the steps of the Moon Palace, a bond between two people was forged; and though largely forgotten, still thrives to the present day.

“No longer needing the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal, and with the might of the Amazons at her back, Queen Serenity waged a successful campaign against Sailor X. In the waning days of Nibiru’s orbit, the former Larisa fell. The Moon Kingdom and the Amazons were victorious.

“Alas, it was not the end.

“Though she breathed no more, Larisa’s voice carried through the air on her way to the underworld; Planet X would return, and her spirit would be revitalized. Armageddon at her hand, she said, was inevitable.

“The Amazons have long watched over the gates to Tarturus, and doubled our guard in anticipation of Planet X’s return. But it was not enough. Larisa is free, and with the Onyx Prism in her grasp, she can channel the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal into darkness.

“And that is why, Sailor Moon, given your bond with the Legendary Silver Crystal, I cannot allow you to face her.”

Usagi stood, silent, weighing the hollowness in her chest. The list of her mother’s enemies, and in turn her enemies, seemed without end. How could there be so much darkness in the world - so much suffering? It was more than she could bear to think about.

The others, too, said nothing. What could they say? More than any single foe, they faced an entire planet! One with a power equal to the Legendary Silver Crystal. It’s scale was beyond fathom.

And then there was Larisa. 

Usagi recalled her face before the rage ignited. Somewhere, long ago, there was a person, like Diana said. Now there was a husk. She hadn’t changed from a studious, good natured young woman; those things were taken from her. She was a victim, perhaps lost forever.

She balled her fists. It wasn’t fair! Usagi turned to hide her sobs, but all could hear.

Nobody said anything.

Diana softened her stance. Though she was not as quick to tears, she too had mourned the loss of a sister, even one who existed before her time. Perhaps to her it was only a story, and Larisa a stranger, but the tragedy was no less because of it.

She inched toward Usagi, but thought better of it. Her place was not to give comfort. That was what her friends were for. The burden she’d placed was already too much.

Luna broke the silence. “Larisa will come for Usagi,” she said.

“And we’ll be there to defend her,” Jupiter snapped. 

The sentiment sparked warmth in Usagi. Mako was ever loyal, until the bitter end. In the face of adversity, her feet were planted the deepest. Push hard, and she would push back harder.

Venus took Usagi’s hand. “When your enemies are close, keep your friends closer!”

“That’s not how the saying goes,” Mars muttered.

Why did Mina always get her proverbs wrong? Was she doing it on purpose? They could never tell, and when they asked the girl would act oblivious.

Lieutenant Candy shrugged. “I kind of like it.”

Wonder Woman lifted the young girl’s chin. Her expression was fraught with a tension Usagi could not identify, but she no less radiated the warmth of a goddess because of it. 

“I know a place we can go,” Diana said, “to keep you safe.”

Safe. Where could be safer than by the Amazon’s side? 

Usagi exhaled. Her head was spinning. Wherever Wonder Woman went, she would gladly follow. Thoughts of Larisa faded for the moment. Even with that strange feeling between them, Usagi soared like she did the first time she laid eyes on her.

“I want to come too!”

Usagi groaned. Of course Chibi-Usa wanted to tag along, just as she was getting close to Wonder Woman! That was the price of having a little sister, she supposed; nothing was ever just  _ hers _ anymore. No, she had to ‘share’, and to be ‘understanding’, because the pink-haired brat was ‘just a kid’.

“Chibi-Usa,” she pressed, forcing a chirp in her tone. “Why don’t you stay with Mamoru for a while? He can watch over you while I’m gone!”

The little girl bounced. “Mamoru can come too!”

“I’m sorry, little one, but I’m afraid that’s impossible.” Wonder Woman patted the girl’s head to ease the sudden confusion. “No man is permitted to set foot where we’re going - not even one held in high esteem.”

Chibi-Usa frowned. The Sailor Guardians, however, lit up like it was Christmas morning.

“Y-you mean-”

Colonel Trevor chuckled. “Would you get a load of that? They’re acting like they scored theme park tickets.”

“Of course they’re excited,” Wonder Woman smirked.

Bubbles of excitement raced to a collective squeal, filling the control room. The Sailor Guardians were going to Paradise Island!

* * *

Even from her perch on Tokyo Tower, the air was awash with human stink. Lady Chimera had once, under a different name, wearing cursed flesh, set out to isolate herself from these wretched creatures; but wherever she went they would follow, dirtying the soil beneath their feet.

Larisa, meanwhile, stared beyond the city, vacant, like a doll. What a strange new world she’d returned to, and yet in it she found no admiration, no awe. She might have, if not for the dearth carved in her heart.

She said nothing at first, but regarded her bestial companion in a matter of fact manner. 

“Who are you?” she asked, flatly.

Lady Chimera bowed her head. “I’m an ally to your cause, if you’ll have me.”

Larisa did not stir. “Cause? I... I have no cause. Only function.”

Why, then, did she speak? She had no desire for questions or answers. Her coming to this place was equally a mystery, as it held nothing that could satisfy her. There was no urge to be satisfied, period. 

Larisa had knowledge of all manner of things, but her mind was made up of still waters. The contents of her heart, her personhood, were more defined by what she lacked than what she was.

And yet, mere hours ago, she was a burning torch of hate. What had changed? Her head turned vaguely in the direction of the sky.

Planet X. Its eye lingered, but did not rest on her.

“I,” Larisa explained, “am a mere vessel for Nibiru. When it needs me, my body will answer.”

Her body and nothing else.

Lady Chimera marked the steel ledge with the same ease most would paper. She snarled, and lowered herself as though ready to pounce. There would be no rest in a place so awful.

“Then I come as an ally to your master,” she said.

“To what end?”

“Planet X is chaos,” said the beast. “It is destruction! Indiscriminate!”

Larisa nodded without stirring.

“This planet is rotten,” she continued, “and lousy with the blight called humanity. They make me sick, every last one of them! And their conceit that there is goodness, kindness... while everything burns! They burn their own homes, and the homes of everyone around. For that they deserve to-”

“Planet X will bring such an end,” Larisa said, “but not for your sake.” Not for anyone’s sake, she didn’t say.

A lifetime ago the words would have troubled her. Somewhere, deep down, was the faded echo of a flash of a forgotten dream wherein, perhaps, she felt sentiment for home. Love, even? But such notions were far from the present.

The monster grinned, flashing every glistening tooth in her maw. “What does it matter? The result is the same. Your master and I serve the same goal.”

“My... master..."

What a strange thing to call it, this entity in Nibiru, as though it had will or design. In truth it was so much more than that - primordial, elemental. Even then Larisa was aware of it hanging in the sky, drawing her in, saturating every cell in her body. To compare it to a man made it sound so small, so escapable.

Then again such thoughts were typical for a once-human animal. How could she ever grasp the terror of beyond?

The celestial body turned, casting its eye on Larisa. She gasped, overcome by the supernatural wave pouring into her. She arched back, snapping her limbs out of their lazy stupor, and squeezed the cursed stone ‘gifted’ her by the planet.

The Onyx Prism, antithesis of the Legendary Silver Crystal, was a sink where the other was a font, and prickled with invisible teeth in the former Amazon’s hand. It demanded to feed.

Larisa took the jewel and smashed it against the beam of the tower. When it didn’t shatter she struck a second time, then a third, then a fourth; again and again, for ends even she didn’t grasp.

“What a sight,” Lady Chimera mused.

Larisa was unrelenting, a slave to Nibiru’s demands; so why destroy their most powerful weapon?

She stopped when a chip broke free and fell to the grate. The witch blinked. One moment she was wild, and the next completely still.

Lady Chimera leaned toward the shard with interest. “So, why’d you do that?”

Larisa said nothing. She didn’t have to. For without prompting the shard stood on end and crystalised into a new shape; long and spiralling, with cascading scales running down the length of its body.

What manner of creature...? No matter. It was crafted for destruction, and that was enough to inspire a flashing, toothy grin. This was what Lady Chimera had been seeking; this was the power she craved!

A black, snake-like dragon whose scales did not reflect light twisted into the sky and shot like a dart into the horizon. Gods help those who came into its path.

* * *

There are those who believe Wonder Woman’s invisible jet to be an urban myth. Not Usagi. Just because you couldn’t see something - which she supposed in this case was the point - didn’t negate its existence.

She squealed, kicking her feet, beside herself with delight. “We’re flying in the invisible jet! This is really happening!”

Ami tittered, Mina giggled without shame, but Rei sighed. “Usagi, you really should restrain yourself. You’re in the company of royalty.”

Did she really have to? Rei was so proper, so polite, and always to a fault. Not that she was wrong to be that way, but Usagi couldn’t be the same if she tried.

“But... but... Wonder Woman’s jet!” she whined. “Aren’t you excited?”

“It is pretty cool,” Mako agreed with a blush.

Chibi-Usa, however, folded her little arms and huffed into the ball that was Luna-P. “You’re embarrassing yourself,” said the girl. “A princess is supposed to carry herself with grace and dignity!”

“Who asked you?” Usagi huffed.

There were times even Usagi forgot that her future-daughter-turned-younger-sister had lived more years than most; no doubt because she was always acting out, being a know-it-all, demanding attention. Maybe that’s why Chibi-Usa never seemed to grow, because she never acted her age!

Wonder Woman turned slightly, catching the girls from the corner of her eye. All noticed. How could they avoid the movements of such a prominent figure? She turned away, hoping they hadn’t seen too much.

The girls huddled together. Was something wrong? If there was, Diana would tell them, surely. Then again, even a warrior of truth was allowed private feelings.

Ami clasped her hands together. “I’m sorry, Wonder Woman. I hope we haven’t offended you.”

Diana shook her head. “No, not at all. Quite the contrary, in fact.”

“How do you mean?” asked Mina.

The amazon smiled a gentle smile, though there was no mistaking a hint of melancholy in her tone. She forced a chuckle. “You remind me of my friends,” she said, “when my mother said I’d be meeting the Sailor Guardians.”

A confused hush fell over the group.

“That can’t be right,” Rei said.

“You,” Ami continued, “a fan of  _ us _ ?”

“It’s supposed to be the other way around!” Mako said.

Mina lifted her chin to preen like a peacock. “Well, can you blame them? When it comes to the Sailor Guardians, you can absolutely judge a book by its color!”

Of course Mina would revel in the idol status, but the rest of the Sailor Guardians? They were urban myths, most talked about in whispers between women and girls. To think that they were admired by warriors of legend, by amazons, was beyond belief!

Wonder Woman, perhaps for the first time during their encounter, cast her cares away. What remarkable girls they’d turned out to be. If only they knew. 

The sunlight gleamed through the translucent canopy as the jet arced toward a tropical island. Usagi and the others pressed against the window, marvelling at the green jewel in the crystal clear sea.

Usagi gasped. “Is that-”

“Themyscira,” Wonder Woman said, “home of the Amazons.”

The closer they were, the grander the island became. Themyscira from above was a snapshot of a bygone era, with statues and pristine temples, winding stairs and aqueducts, and flames burning at the top of pillars. And then there were the people; all women, not wearing the pristine white robes they imagined, but garbs of all colors, with feathers and flowers in their hair, and dazzling jewellery to match.

Usagi brimmed, wide eyed with excitement. Few outsiders ever laid eyes upon these shores, let alone set foot there! And she was one of them. She, and her dearest friends. It truly was a paradise, and one that promised to stay with them for all their days.

“It’s like something out of a history book,” Ami gasped.

“Why would you ever want to leave this place?” Rei wondered aloud.

Chibi-Usa frowned and tilted her head. “Why are there no kids running around?”

Wonder Woman, despite the collective wince of the girls, did not take offense.

“The Amazons are an immortal race,” she said. “I was the first child to live among them for thousands of years.”

Chibi-Usa frowned. “So you had no other kids to play with?”

“That’s enough questions for now,” Usagi said, laughing awkwardly.

“It’s quite alright,” Diana said. “I was fortunate to have countless sisters to guide me. I was never wanting for love, guidance, comfort or companionship.” Her smile softened under the weight of melancholy. “But I would be dishonest if I told you that I never wished for a friend my own age. You girls are lucky to have each other.”

A collective hush fell over the group. They’d heard the story of Wonder Woman a thousand times; about the Amazon queen sculpting a daughter from clay, and that daughter given life by goddesses from Olympus; of a girl raised without restrictions placed on her sex, who though a contest of skill and strength won the right of ambassadorship to the outside world.

It was but one of the countless tales that enshrined Diana as a modern day legend, but never had they thought about what it must be like for her; that despite being born into paradise, there might yet be much that the hero lacked. To have a girlhood without friends was a bitter fruit they’d all tasted.

Usagi shook away her tears before they had the chance to fall. She beamed, with all the love in her heart.

“Diana,” she said, “I know you’re not a girl anymore, but... would you like to be our friend?”

Friend; not just an ally, but a companion to share hearts.

The amazon brimmed with warmth, released one hand from the control stick, and intertwined her fingers between Usagi’s. Did she deserve this honor, all things considered? She accepted in spite of herself.

“I would like that very much,” she said. “Thank you, Usagi. Thank you, everyone.”

Cheering erupted through the jet as they descended toward the island. Despite their struggle, it was a time for celebration.

**_À suivre..._ **


End file.
